Huawei Ban Could Be Lifted For 3 Months Again

The U.S. Commerce Department is willing to extend a reprieve for the trade ban that Huawei received this 2019. This reprieve is designed to service Huawei owners in the US for the 90 days it’s potentially given. After the ban began, Huawei had to find ways to replace the loss of its American audience.

According to Reuters, the U.S. government is planning to extend a “temporary general license” to Huawei for three months. This license would allow Huawei to purchase goods from American companies and continue their US-based operations. This means telecommunication networks, device support and updates will be returning once again for Huawei owners in the U.S.

The talks is expected to happen this coming Aug. 19 between the President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Earlier this year, Huawei was banned from working with US-based firms due to the U.S.-China trade war. The talks said that Huawei could be working with the Chinese government to spy on US citizens through its devices. The conclusion of the talks barred the Chinese tech giant from buying goods and their U.S. partners were forced to cut off ties as it requires special permits to work with them again.

As a result, Huawei lost their U.S. audience which is considered to a big market for all smartphone makers. If Huawei does get their reprieve, the company may have one last shot in keeping their audience, or at least provide services one last time as they help them transfer to a different smartphone or provider.

On the other end, Huawei has the resources to be independent if not granted the reprieve. The Chinese tech giant has the Harmony OS which is a whole new operating system for smart devices. Huawei has yet to introduce any smartphones with the Harmony OS but a Smart TV, that’s still an exclusive China release, has been confirmed to be loaded with this operating system too. Potentially, this Smart TV could be released stateside if the reprieve talks go in favor of Huawei.

By September, the company is also releasing their foldable device, the Mate X. The reprieve would allow them to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and any Apple device release in the same month.

A logo sits illumintated outside the Huawei booth on day 2 of the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 26, 2019.Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images